Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

What if I told you the Rio Grande has a class two white water rapid—would you believe me? Would you believe Eric Ellman?

We’ve been leading tours on a class two rapid below Anzalduas Dam that Gary Lacey, who designed the US National Whitewater Training Center in Charlotte North Carolina flew out to take a look at for free, himself, because he could hardly believe it. He believes it is a world class white water park waiting to be built.

Ellman is the Executive director of Los Caminos Del Rio a non profit that preserves and promotes the natural and cultural heritage of the Rio Grande Valley from Laredo to the Gulf of Mexico—and paddling the Rio Grande is one way to bring attention the area, and change attitudes. Building a white water park would be another.

So far the best place we’ve found for a white water park would probably below Anzalduas Dam. There’s already sufficient drop, the water coming out below the dam is cool and clear most of the year, and there’s opportunities to do something even more extravagant, which the IBWC has said would be possible, involving taking off water above the river and creating a water course through the park and putting it back into the river below the dam, thereby obviating any of the cross-border issues that people are generally most concerned about.

The bi-national white water park is currently in discussions. We’ll have updates as they are available.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

The Rio Grande Valley and its river are misunderstood, but Eric Ellman, Executive Director of the non-profit Los Caminos Del Rio,is out to change that.

The organization’s focus is on historical and environmental preservation. And we’ve found recently that paddling is a great way to bring people’s attention to the area, and to fundamentally alter the way that they perceive the Rio Grande River and the Rio Grande Valley.

Most of us have an opinion about the Rio Grande, but few of us have actually spent time on it. Yet when we do, Ellman says we are forced to reexamine our preconceptions.

There are all kinds of positive associations to be made with the river. The river is free-flowing, it’s there’s year-round, the weather is warm, the birding is great, we have some of the most historic buildings in the country on either side. We’ve been running trips there and taking literally hundreds of people down there in the last few years and we have never had a single unpleasant incident. And, we really think it’s going to become the wintertime destination for canoe and kayak racing for the entire United States and perhaps northern Mexico.

And Ellman says there’s something you may not know about the Rio Grande River that could surprise you.

Gary Lacey who designed the US National Whitewater Training center could hardly believe it.

And we’ll tell you about it tomorrow.

Until then…That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

[:05 whooping cranes calling”]

The call of the whooping crane may not be the most beautiful birdsong you’ll ever hear, but it is music to Lee Ann Linam’s ears.

A wildlife biologist, Ms. Linam, has a shared history with North America’s largest bird. Thanks to six decades of conservation, including efforts by one special family member, the species’ worldwide population has grown from 16 individuals to more than 200 birds – something Lee Ann has waited a lifetime to witness.

Well, I literally grew up with whooping cranes. My father worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and when we moved to Texas in 1973, the whooper numbers were still around fifty birds. At that time, they were still very, very endangered, and yet we saw the number progressing upward. And in fact, when he died in 1986, he thought, ‘this might be the year they pass the one hundred bird mark’, and they did. And so, I feel like whoopers are a part of my life. I think that their success kind of reflects something of our family’s connection in history to the Texas coast and all the animals there.

Learn more about Whooping cranes by logging onto passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show …made possible today by the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Whooping cranes are one of the rarest bird species in North America. Whooping cranes are protected in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Because some of their habitat is federally protected, the land is managed to preserve the animals. The greatest threats to whooping cranes are man-made: power lines, illegal hunting, and habitat loss. Because the Gulf International Waterway goes through their habitat area, the cranes are susceptible to chemical spills and other petroleum-related contamination. Public awareness and support are critical to whooping cranes’ survival as a species.

Whooping Crane--A Shared Past Play Now | Play in Popup | Download